Great Indian Kabeb Factory

I know this place has been shut for quite a while now and whenever I think of buffet this is the only place that comes to my mind.
Gheloti Kebab was one of my favourites served here. I remember he suggesting us to eat it with the roti served And I was speculative of his suggestion but none the less I went ahead and wow it really did taste good but after a little improvisation.
I took the small roti added onions and green mint chutney the gheloti rolled it and then it tasted like a Kings snack.
I really don't remember how it was cooked but it sure was tender.

Daal Makhni
I haven't tasted better daal than this ever in my entire 21 years(one of Vivanta's restaurants serves a good daal, have to taste it).
I took 7 helpings and I could have swam in that daal if not for my stomach that couldn't take on anymore of my tongue's tyranny.
Thick, buttery, thoroughly mashed and felt like a dish out from the cook books.
I use it as a benchmark.

Not that other dishes are bad they were equally good but the above 2 still bring back the taste.
Please open up somewhere in Hyderabad and I'll sure be your 1st customer.

The Hyderabad Times Cafe

A lot of hype around this place for its ambiance which is unworthy.
The place is no doubt has a nice feel to it yet there is nothing out of the ordinary except an entwined portrait of iconic places in the city and around it, which gave it a unique touch along with the view.

Since I am not a seesha fan I ordered a Caffe Frappe. It was similar to a  normal coffee drink that one can order in any coffee shop. Nothing out of ordinary again(referring to the Starbucks coffee tag)
I have been to various places that serve coffee and every place has its unique touch to it. This one seemed just normal, no special touch.
199/- is too high a price.
I would rather spend that money for a Kapi Nirvana at CCD and still be left with money to take home.

I do understand that this not a place which specializes in coffee but If someone like me ends up there then the price charged is not something that justifies the taste while I would be willing to pay a  bit lesser at Testa Rossa for Mocha Frappe.

Truffles Bar and Cafe

26-2-14
Breakfast time and the ratings on Zomato for this place was higher than Bouchon.

The Ambiance, first.
What a place. We took a table that felt like a picnic bench out of the cartoons adjacent to the earthen pizza oven. It felt real, no artificial arrangements and the ambiance was just out of a painting.
Towards the interior, the placement of old electronics and other antiques near the window was kind of creative. The seatings were comfortable as well.

Breakfast.

Veg Barbecue sandwich
This sandwich was served with tomato sauce, and a white sauce with garlic in it.
The sandwich had a filling of vegetables like broccoli, zucchini(yellow and green), baby corn, mushroom in barbecue sauce.
It tasted best with that whitish sauce.

Spanish omelette
As stated by the person who took my order this is an omelette comprising of 5 eggs.
The omelette was cooked with basic vegetables like capsicum, bell peppers, onions and mashed potatoes served with 2 slices of bread. It was filling with no need to order anything else.
For the price I was charged the chef could have served it with sausages and potatoes wedges like Fiesta Coffee shop(Minerva Grand).
The Spanish omelette served at Fiesta Coffee shop and Ofen were served with either wedges or sausages or both and I remember seeing olives in it along with the other veggies.

Not recommend.

Chocolate Smoothie
This was the star dish/drink. It was thick and was one of a kind.
I rated  Mocha Frappe of Testa Rossa with distinction but this is a tougher contender and a one with an amazing taste and the odds favouring it.
I couldn't resist slurping 2 Of these heavenly creations.

Chicken onion Sandwich
This was a Yummy one. A mixture of mayo, onion and chicken with crushed pepper in the bread which was grilled tasted delicious. Nothing extra ordinary or innovative though.

Chicken Sausage.
Give this one a pass. The chef could have been innovative with the preparation. Rather I was served 4 sausages similar to the ones I occasionally cook for myself.

I was disappointed with the omelette and the sausage. Plus the same kind of onion sandwich was once served at a place called Moussri Sana(doesn't exist now)

Ambiance 5
Taste 3.5
Service 4

Shadaab (Take Away)

The Biryani from this place is one of the most authentic Biryani's one can ever have rather I ever tasted.
The spices were in sync with each other, I have basic idea as to how it is cooked, and I can say the masala did not stick together and was evenly spread and it dint feel too heavy after eating. Coming to the chicken part, it was the leg and the thigh region of the the Bird and was not fleshy. The saalan did not augment the taste(but the saalan tasted good) infact the Biryani alone was able to carry off the taste and the flavours.

Testa Rossa - Tivoli

What rude staff this place has.
I ordered for a bottle of water that was of room temperature and the waiter gets me cold water. Now cold water triggers my sneezing allergy. On pointing it out to the waiter he replies"If this is not room temperature then what is? "
At that instant the delivery guy brings in 2 cartons of bottled water and I asked another waiter to get that.
I then pointed out. This is room temperature not that And he passes a comment which was inaudible.
If it was not for hookah's this place would be long shut with the kind of staff this place has.

Rude and brash.

The Paratha WalI Gali- Sainikpuri

On my way back home I spotted this place just because it is adjacent to Mama Mia and i decided to taste the food here.

I ordered Dal makhni for just myself.
It had no colour and was similar to a home made daal, except for dollops of butter used 'Dil Khool ke'.
The daal too was not mashed like the one they serve in the restaurants, it tasted rich nonetheless. There was coriander visible in the daal(don't generally find that in a restaurant's daal).
The daal was so much similar, barring the butter, to what my mother cooks at home.

Tha Ambiance is not all that appealing.
The Food needs improvement. Nobody would want to come to a restaurant and have something on the lines of what they can get at home and pay for it.                                

Royal Reve

Dinner in Diamond Hall

I hosted a party here for around 50 people And the menu was a complete veg menu.
The starters

Malai Paneer Tikka
The paneer was very soft and it lived up to the name, except it could not be eaten without a chutney, too bland for my taste.
The paneer was fresh and felt like I was eating one from Punjab Sindh.

Chilli Babycorn

This was the star dish. Crisp baby corn in a nice tadka similar to that used in a Manchuria except we had cups of capsicum and onions, it was the best. I felt like I was having baby corn manchuria, nothing chilli about it. It was delicious.

Hara Bara Kabeb
This was a disappointment. I didn't like it. It tasted like it was made using mashed peas, chilli, garlic finely chopped and other ingredients I couldn't recognise.
Not something I recommend.

Main course (what I tasted Of the spread )

Daal Makhni

This was really good. Makhan ka taste was prominent and the daal was mashed which made the gravy thick. It tasted the best with that veg Biryani.

Dum Sabz Biryani

Rice were perfectly cooked with the fragrance of saffron and tasted rich with butter. The vegetables didn't seem awkward will eating as they were soft enough to melt in the mouth. So if you are there and confused, this is the best bet for your party.

Butter paneer masala

This was not really great but was eatable. The paneer was soft but then the spices used were not in sync, something seemed missing.

Veg Manchow Soup

The soup was served with crisp noodles. All I know it has chopped vegetables and tasted good. Period.

Dessert

Trifle pudding
It had a nice layer of cream to it. Second layer was that of a sponge cake. Bottom had a nice Mix of fruits.

Angoori Rasmalai
The rasmalai were soft. The syrup was not too sweet. It was ok.

The service was top notch. The food on the whole was loved by all the guests. It was a success.

The taste and service  of the food justified the price I paid.

MRCB-Marredpally

Chicken 65
This is a very nice starter. Lots of green chillies and garlic. The chicken has a very thin coating and is bright red. Tastes good and is spicy.

Manchuria
I tasted 2 types of manchuria in one serving. One type seemed chewy and hard while the other one was nice and soft, but oily. This you should be careful of. Try and taste it before you order.

Biryani.
A typical locally suited biryani. High on chilli and very balanced on the spices. The rice upon opening, the packet, may look like it has not much of a masala used but it tastes otherwise. A 200 rupees Biryani has 4 pieces and all are from the breast region of the chicken which makes it chewy and n ordeal to eat the chicken. Mention that you want a good tender piece. The Biryani is spicy mind you.

Khan Saab-2

29-1-2014, Dinner.
It was a very formal occassion and where else to go apart from Khan Saab ?
High expectations but low on delivery.

Paneer Tikka(it should be malai paneer tikka, I forgot the name)
It was OK. Having tasted the same in sigree, was it better here ? No. Both have some work to do on their paneer.
Two pieces of paneer attached together with some chutneys and then tandoored. It was low on spices and also on the taste.

Aloo(This should be Tandoori Aloo)
Name main kya rakha hain, right? Wrong
The dish was boiled potato in the some tadka as that of a 65 based Chinese dish, must be tandoored but I felt it was not great . All it had was the red coating and the masala.

Dahi ki Gahlouti
It had mashed daal, which one ?I really dont know because it was bad,bland and bad.

Daal Khaan Saab
The saving grace amongst all, an oasis in the desert of food low on taste. A generous amount of butter mixed in the daal, but was it worth ordering ? No. It was no where close to finger licking good.
The Kabeb Factory served the best daal makhni and I remember having taken a lot of helpings.
Here, I finished the entire dinner with the daal only because the next dish was a disaster.

Kadai paneer Kashmiri
The paneer was not fresh and the curry was not good. It was tangy but not the good type tangy. There were no dominant flavours. And I really feel the chef was in no mood to cook.
Next time I'll head to sigree for veg.

Tandoori roti.
What? Tandoori?
No, this roti was thick, chewy and cold.

Since it was a very formal occassion, I could not call the guy who took our order and show him the rotis.
For veg khan saab is a no go. Head to sigree if you want but not here.
Brand arrogance has taken over.

A word of caution:
If you order dessert form this place better be ready to wait for a good 20-30 minutes.
Note: The discussion we were in was one reason I didn't pay attention to the names while the dish was being served.
.
Service and Food equally bad.